A new study has proven that new runners have a higher risk of sustaining injuries than any veteran trainer, no matter how many miles each athlete is trying to log. For the study, which surveyed 4600 Dutch runners, researchers divided participants into new runners (those in their first year with the sport) and experienced runners (who’d running for longer than a year.) Both groups shared the most common types of injuries—knee and lower leg—but they grew apart from one another when it came to how easily they sustained those injuries.

In fact, for every 1,000 hours of running, the beginners got injured twice as often as those with more experience!

Now, these findings shouldn’t scare new runners away from the sport: it just means that improper technique, not the wear and tear of the actual sport, is most likely responsible for many running injuries.

Here are a few steps new runners can take to avoid injury and train smarter:

1. Switch up your runs.

Almost all running injuries are the result of repetitive strain when a muscle, tendon, or bone reaches its breaking point after taking the same pounding again and again.

How to avoid this issue? Vary the forces you put on your body. Run on different surfaces at different paces for different times and distances and you’re less likely to experience a break down in one area of your body.

2. Build up slowly

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and marathon training shouldn’t be conquered in a few short weeks. When you’re just starting out with the sport, implement slow increases to your training schedule: think one extra mile each week, or one new short, easy training day each week. You’ll know your training add-ons are safe for your body if you don’t feel aches and pains in one specific area of your body.

3. Pick the proper shoes

Aside from choosing a generally supportive athletic shoe, select a pair that feel good from the first moment you slip them on. There should never be a ‘breaking in’ period when it comes to your running shoes.

4. Improve your strength and flexibility

I can’t say this enough: runners need to cross train. Any kind of training regimen for runners should include exercises that strengthen a runner’s supporting muscles: core, hips, legs etc, not to mention less intense cardiovascular workouts to keep your endurance up without overloading your training muscles.

When taking the proper precautions, running is a sport that’s safe and effective for novices and old pros. For those who want more information on safe training methods for runners, come in for a consultation with Houston running doctor Andrew Schneider.